The search for Lylla?
We’ve explored Peter Quill’s backstory and delved into Gamora’s tortuous childhood being raised by a mad Titan. We know that Drax’s family was killed by a Thanos inspired Ronan and, well, revenge has been secured on both counts there there. But across the two Guardians of the Galaxy entries and various Avengers movie appearances, we haven’t explored Rocket’s past.
Aside from the visual in the original Guardians, where Rocket’s back was briefly seen to feature his exposed cybernetic enhancements, and the prior scene where prison administrator Corpsman Dey (John C. Reilly) is reading out the bio of each of the recently captured Guardians – or rather, pre-Guardians of the Galaxy at this point – we know virtually nothing of Rocket’s history.
No surprise then that James Gunn is shaping up to explore Rocket’s backstory in more detail in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3.
During a #QuarantineWatchParty of the first GotG movie, organised by ComicBook.com and attended by James Gunn, the director gave a suitably pint-sized teaser as to what to expect of our favourite Raccoon in the next instalment.
So, what could this all mean? The fact that Rocket’s story exploration is something that Gunn has planned all along, I reckon we can look to the details in the previous two movies for clues. After all, inter-connectivity is the life-blood of the MCU.
In the comics, and brought to our screens in the Telltale Guardians of the Galaxy game, Rocket Raccoon has a soulmate in the form of Lylla the Space Otter. Like Rocket, Lylla is the subject of cybernetic and neural experimentation on the planet Halfworld.
Lylla is yet to appear in the MCU – in person, anyway, (can I still say in person when she’s an Otter?) But, she is part of the MCU canon. In the aforementioned scene where Corpsman Dey profiles our soon-to-be-heroes, Rocket’s affiliates are listed. Groot is obviously featured, as is Lylla, (seen on the left in the screenshot below.)
In the game, Lylla and Rocket attempt to escape the scientific compound where they are imprisoned. But during a skirmish, Lylla is stabbed with a lethal injection and subsequently dies in Rocket’s arms.
Could the MCU include Rocket’s love interest in some capacity as part of his origin story in GotG Vol.3? If I’m to do some wholly irresponsible wild speculation, I’d say that Quill’s search for the 2014 Gamora, who snuck off after the final battle against Thanos’ army in Endgame, could be paired with Rocket’s search for a very-much alive but missing Lylla.
Perhaps the two were separated in a grand escape from the Halfworld lab. Rocket doesn’t know what happened to her. His search for her could tantalisingly take him back to Halfworld one last time.
It could make for an interesting way to complete Rocket’s arc from egocentric criminal to a Raccoon with compassion for his found family.
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